Hatters boss Matt Bloomfield explained just why he didn’t recall Jordan Clark or Kal Naismith to the starting line-up for Saturday’s Championship clash against Coventry City at Kenilworth Road.
The 31-year-old Clark has been a regular starter since Bloomfield took over, named in the team for 14 out of 17 matches, scoring twice in that time, including a stunning volley during the 2-1 victory over Cardiff City. Having missed the 3-1 win over Bristol City due to a calf issue that he picked up in the 1-0 success at Derby County, when winning up four awards at the Luton Town Supporters’ Trust presentation evening last week, he declared himself fit to play in the contest with the Sky Blues.
Although Bloomfield had stated he was back in training in his pre-match press conference, when the teams were announced both Clark and Kal Naismith, who also sat out the Robins victory due to the terms of his loan agreement, had to make do with places on the bench, as Lamine Fanne kept his place in midfield, with Teden Mengi remaining in the back three as well.
Asked just why Clark or Naismith hadn’t come back straight back in, Bloomfield said: “Clicks would say he was fully fit, I just felt he had an injury in his calf and the longer he played the more risk he was at to reinjure himself. Because the level of performance was so good on Monday, I just felt it was an unnecessary risk, knowing full well that we had a top player to come on and influence the game in the second half should we need.
“Ultimately that’s how it played out, I thought Clicks was fantastic when he came on, real composure, so it just felt like we couldn’t expose him to reinjury when Lamine and Walshy (Liam Walsh), who was man of the match last week in my mind, playing in that deeper role. The same with Kal, I just felt it was the right thing to keep the same together.”
With Naismith on for Christ Makosso at the interval, Clark soon entered the fray in the second half, replacing Fanne with 12 minutes gone, due to Town having so much of the ball in and around the Sky Blues’ area after the visitors having been reduced to 10 men early in the first period. It was after the break that Luton started to make their extra man count in terms of chances, with Liam Walsh and Fanne denied by Bradley Collins, as Clark instantly found Milli All for an opportunity that deflected against the post.
Asked whether he had told his side to try and make more of their monopoly on possession during the break, Bloomfield continued: “It’s the way you do more with it. Defensively Coventry were really solid, and we knew that before the game. Their distances from front to back are very, very good, they’re a very well organised team.
“They’ve got some top coaches and are doing the work and we felt like we needed to be patient and probe a little bit more. A couple of times in the first half we were putting crosses in but it felt like they had good physicality in those moments. It felt like, which we did with Lamine’s chance, we needed to be trying to get those higher xG (expected goals) chances, rather than just crossing it from out wide.”
“They’ve got some top coaches and are doing the work and we felt like we needed to be patient and probe a little bit more. A couple of times in the first half we were putting crosses in but it felt like they had good physicality in those moments. It felt like, which we did with Lamine’s chance, we needed to be trying to get those higher xG (expected goals) chances, rather than just crossing it from out wide.”
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